Last Updated on May 11, 2024
How do people define productivity these days? It seems like it’s all about doing as much as possible, listing them on to-do lists, and trying to complete them in an orderly fashion. It feels like a highly productive person can get a lot more done than others, which often makes us feel inferior.
This is a misconception.
We only have 24 hours in a day. Our energy and focus are limited. If you follow these traditional “productivity” suggestions, all you’ll end up with is an endless cycle of procrastinating on your to-do list until you give up.
So, what should we actually do? We should delete as many items from our to-do list as possible. The secret is how to do less, not more. Less is more.
Look at the outstanding individuals in sports, science, and business. They always concentrate their energy on a single task. They go deep, not wide.
The first step in focus management is to reduce information consumption, limit the time spent on social media, and entertainment.
The second step, if you start now and focus on advancing the same goal for two weeks straight, produce your content or actually do something, build a website, pass an exam, etc., you’ll see your progress and gain more confidence.
The third step, when you look back at your previous focus allocation, you’ll realize how foolish it was to spend so much time scrolling through short videos. It’s a behavior with no output. Only then will you have a basis for self-comparison. Daydreaming now is pointless.
The fourth? There’s no fourth. If you can take some simple actions after reading this, instead of just consuming this article/video and then scrolling to the next, you’re making a choice. While it’s hard for us to expect a 360-degree change right away, even a tiny 1% improvement each day won’t harm you.
We may not aspire to be the next great person, but don’t let yourself fall into the information trap set by others, unable to extricate yourself. Be vigilant, understand whether you’re a pawn or the player.